Hey guys! It's Restaurant Week in New York City and you know what that means, the food you usually can't afford just became affordable.
From now until August 18th, a variety of 390 restaurants will be participating in restaurant week in all five boroughs. For lunch, the deal is a three-course prix fixe menu for $29. For dinner, it's also a three-course prix fixe menu but it is $42.
Here is a list of my personal favorites.
It's awesome, and I wouldn't want you guys to miss out on this, so click here to find a restaurant in your area that is offering a restaurant week deal!
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
Bangkok Cuisine UES
Hey so I'm back with another restaurant recommendation. It is called Bangkok Cuisine and you must go asap. I found this place on Yelp after having an extreme craving for some good Asian food and this place certainly lived up to its high reviews and my high expectations. Here is what I ordered:
To start, I ordered a Thai Iced Tea, which is an awesome drink to have with spicy food because it cools down your taste buds due to the heavy cream. It was served in a tall glass which I think added to the atmosphere of the place, which you can also kinda see from this picture. Not to mention it was only $3! It was very clean and felt very southeast Asian. To top off the aesthetic of the restaurant, pictured below you will see a golden decoration. Guess who? Buddha.
To start, I ordered a Thai Iced Tea, which is an awesome drink to have with spicy food because it cools down your taste buds due to the heavy cream. It was served in a tall glass which I think added to the atmosphere of the place, which you can also kinda see from this picture. Not to mention it was only $3! It was very clean and felt very southeast Asian. To top off the aesthetic of the restaurant, pictured below you will see a golden decoration. Guess who? Buddha.
As an appetizer, I had the Thai Style Pork BBQ. It was insanely good and came with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce that complemented the pork perfectly. It comes with 5 skewers, not three like pictured below. I ate two before remembering I needed to take pictures for my blog. They were THAT irresistible. $13.
Next, I had the Pad Prig Khing with beef. The picture is a little dark, but this dish includes veggies like carrots, string beans and red peppers all sautéed in a delicious curry paste. A perfect combination of flavor, which leaves me with nothing to critique. $15.
Finally, the Massaman Curry with chicken. A massaman curry includes coconut milk, butter beans, sweet onions and potatoes. Paired with chicken, this dish is irresistible. I probably could have eaten two, and I will definitely be returning to Bangkok Cuisine for this dish. If you have read my post on Up Thai, you might remember that I had this same curry, however, in comparison, Bangkok Cuisine wins, hands-down. $14.
I have really no complaints about this restaurant, except one. On my bill, I was charged $3.50 for the Thai Iced Tea instead of $3 like it said on the menu. Although it is only $.50, it displays either a careless mistake, or the restaurant being sneaky and trying to make a few extra dollars. So watch out for things like this at any restaurant you go to!
Please go here. I promise you won't regret it!!
Sunday, July 23, 2017
How To Pick a Restaurant
Hey Guys! So this post is hopefully going to help the next time you're asked the famous question "where should we eat". I'll tell you about a trick you can use with a friend or a date and I'll walk you through the best way to use Yelp. At the end, I'll include other apps you can use to help pick the perfect spot.
The Trick
Here is a simple trick you can use when you and your dinner companion can't decide on a place to eat. It's called the 5-3-1 tool and it works like this. First, you (or your companion) choose 5 restaurants they would like to eat at. Then, the other person chooses 3 out of the 5 that were just named. And last, the person who picked the initial 5, chooses out of the remaining three and BAM! You have yourself a mutually agreed on place to eat.
But maybe your problem isn't agreeing on a restaurant but choosing one in the first place. That's where Yelp comes in.
Yelp
Yelp is the number one app for restaurant selection in my opinion. It automatically picks up on your current location to list the restaurants in your area. You can type in "Restaurant" in general or a specific cuisine. You can even type in a certain dish and it will list all the restaurants that have that dish on their menu.
Another good thing about Yelp is the amount of filters they let you use to narrow down the options. The most useful choices in my opinion are the price options, open now, outdoor seating, happy hour, and free wifi. But they also have cool options like vegetarian friendly, wheelchair assessable, full bar and so many more. They even have a filter for a PokeStop nearby!
They also have a section where people can write reviews which the restaurant cannot delete. Of course, restaurants sometimes have their employees purposely write good reviews, but I like that they don't allow restaurants to delete the bad ones.
I highly recommend downloading Yelp on your phone to help with restaurant options.
Other Useful Apps
Besides Yelp, here is a list of other useful apps to use to find good places to eat (besides my blog!).
The Trick
Here is a simple trick you can use when you and your dinner companion can't decide on a place to eat. It's called the 5-3-1 tool and it works like this. First, you (or your companion) choose 5 restaurants they would like to eat at. Then, the other person chooses 3 out of the 5 that were just named. And last, the person who picked the initial 5, chooses out of the remaining three and BAM! You have yourself a mutually agreed on place to eat.
But maybe your problem isn't agreeing on a restaurant but choosing one in the first place. That's where Yelp comes in.
Yelp
Yelp is the number one app for restaurant selection in my opinion. It automatically picks up on your current location to list the restaurants in your area. You can type in "Restaurant" in general or a specific cuisine. You can even type in a certain dish and it will list all the restaurants that have that dish on their menu.
Another good thing about Yelp is the amount of filters they let you use to narrow down the options. The most useful choices in my opinion are the price options, open now, outdoor seating, happy hour, and free wifi. But they also have cool options like vegetarian friendly, wheelchair assessable, full bar and so many more. They even have a filter for a PokeStop nearby!
They also have a section where people can write reviews which the restaurant cannot delete. Of course, restaurants sometimes have their employees purposely write good reviews, but I like that they don't allow restaurants to delete the bad ones.
I highly recommend downloading Yelp on your phone to help with restaurant options.
Other Useful Apps
Besides Yelp, here is a list of other useful apps to use to find good places to eat (besides my blog!).
- Trip Advisor
- Foursquare
- Open Table
- Urban Spoon
- Chefs Feed
- Tastemade
- Matchbook
Thursday, July 20, 2017
A Sit Down With a Sous Chef at Cafe Boulud
I have blogged about Cafe Boulud once before when I talked about the importance of food presentation. If you missed that post, you can read it here. This time, I asked their sous chef to answer a few questions I had regarding her experience working in the kitchen. Her name is Kiki, she is from Korea and this is what she said...
Q: What sparked your love of cooking? And why did you decide on French cuisine?
A: My love for French cuisine is based on the similarities it has with Korean cuisine. It is very simple, yet elegant. This is what I want my future restaurant to be based on. A mixture of French and Korean cuisine.
Q:How do you motivate your employees to work hard and care about the food that they are preparing?
A: It is sometimes very hard to do by yourself. Loving your job is important which shines through when you are working. Your employees mirror your own work ethic.
Q:What was the most stressful situation you have faced in the kitchen?
A: When unexpected things happen it gets stressful. For example, a cook not showing up for work or being short on ingredients to make the dishes.
Q:In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of your job?
A: Consistency. Having to be in the kitchen every day both mentally and physically. This is a mentally taxing job and subduing emotions from your personal life is very important.
Q:How do you feel about racial diversity in the kitchen?
A: My current kitchen is very diverse. Most chefs respect diversity within the kitchen. You can see this in our voyage menu because many cuisines from around the world are displayed. Having this voyage menu allows all of us to learn from each other's culture since there is such racial diversity in this kitchen. I even was able to do a Korean voyage dinner.
Q:Do you feel the role of women is different than the role of men within the kitchen?
A: Mentally there is no difference but yes, physically. My arm is currently injured after two and a half years of grueling hands on labor, so I cannot lift heavy things or do repetitive tasks which slows me down. Men have an easier time completing their daily tasks because of their physical strength.
Q:What is your favorite food to eat? What about to prepare?
A: Korean food is my favorite to both eat and prepare. I like to cook all Asian cuisines. Southeast Asian and Japanese are some of my other favorites.
Q:What individual has had the greatest impact on you?
A: Chef Aaron who is the head chef at Cafe Boulud has always given me opportunities to grow and has always pushed me beyond my limits to make me grow extremely fast. There is never nothing to do.
Q:How do you evaluate success?
A: I rely upon feedback from my coworkers. I make something good, it tastes good and I feel good.
Q:What is your greatest strength? How does it help you as a sous chef?
A: I am a very organized person and as a sous chef prioritizing and keeping the rest of the kitchen organized is extremely important. It makes delegating tasks faster and more efficient which keeps the machine going.
Q:What do you do to stay educated about new food trends?
A: I use the internet to look up current top restaurants and visit those restaurants. I do this because the top restaurants are basically the canon in which our industry relies upon for trends.
Q:Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A: I want to start out small with my own restaurant with a unique style which is Korean food with French influence. I want it to be called Bottari which is a cloth that Korean's used during the war to carry all their belongings when traveling from place to place.
I want to thank Kiki so much for taking the time out of her busy schedule to complete this interview with me. I also recommend you check out Cafe Boulud next week during Restaurant Week to catch their $29 Prix Fixe Menu while you can!
Q: What sparked your love of cooking? And why did you decide on French cuisine?
A: My love for French cuisine is based on the similarities it has with Korean cuisine. It is very simple, yet elegant. This is what I want my future restaurant to be based on. A mixture of French and Korean cuisine.
Q:How do you motivate your employees to work hard and care about the food that they are preparing?
A: It is sometimes very hard to do by yourself. Loving your job is important which shines through when you are working. Your employees mirror your own work ethic.
Q:What was the most stressful situation you have faced in the kitchen?
A: When unexpected things happen it gets stressful. For example, a cook not showing up for work or being short on ingredients to make the dishes.
Q:In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of your job?
A: Consistency. Having to be in the kitchen every day both mentally and physically. This is a mentally taxing job and subduing emotions from your personal life is very important.
Q:How do you feel about racial diversity in the kitchen?
A: My current kitchen is very diverse. Most chefs respect diversity within the kitchen. You can see this in our voyage menu because many cuisines from around the world are displayed. Having this voyage menu allows all of us to learn from each other's culture since there is such racial diversity in this kitchen. I even was able to do a Korean voyage dinner.
Q:Do you feel the role of women is different than the role of men within the kitchen?
A: Mentally there is no difference but yes, physically. My arm is currently injured after two and a half years of grueling hands on labor, so I cannot lift heavy things or do repetitive tasks which slows me down. Men have an easier time completing their daily tasks because of their physical strength.
Q:What is your favorite food to eat? What about to prepare?
A: Korean food is my favorite to both eat and prepare. I like to cook all Asian cuisines. Southeast Asian and Japanese are some of my other favorites.
Q:What individual has had the greatest impact on you?
A: Chef Aaron who is the head chef at Cafe Boulud has always given me opportunities to grow and has always pushed me beyond my limits to make me grow extremely fast. There is never nothing to do.
Q:How do you evaluate success?
A: I rely upon feedback from my coworkers. I make something good, it tastes good and I feel good.
Q:What is your greatest strength? How does it help you as a sous chef?
A: I am a very organized person and as a sous chef prioritizing and keeping the rest of the kitchen organized is extremely important. It makes delegating tasks faster and more efficient which keeps the machine going.
Q:What do you do to stay educated about new food trends?
A: I use the internet to look up current top restaurants and visit those restaurants. I do this because the top restaurants are basically the canon in which our industry relies upon for trends.
Q:Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A: I want to start out small with my own restaurant with a unique style which is Korean food with French influence. I want it to be called Bottari which is a cloth that Korean's used during the war to carry all their belongings when traveling from place to place.
I want to thank Kiki so much for taking the time out of her busy schedule to complete this interview with me. I also recommend you check out Cafe Boulud next week during Restaurant Week to catch their $29 Prix Fixe Menu while you can!
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Sushi Gama
Hey Guys! So last night was Saturday night and I visited a restaurant called Sushi Gama on the Upper East Side.
I sat in a corner table with a nice view of the outside. The atmosphere was nice, and it was decently busy for a Saturday. Here is what I ordered:
Ika Butter: This is a grilled whole squid in a butter sauce. It was cooked to perfection and the presentation was appealing. I would order this again, and recommend it to you. $12.
I sat in a corner table with a nice view of the outside. The atmosphere was nice, and it was decently busy for a Saturday. Here is what I ordered:
Ika Butter: This is a grilled whole squid in a butter sauce. It was cooked to perfection and the presentation was appealing. I would order this again, and recommend it to you. $12.
Soft Shell Crab: The whole point of a soft shell crab is so you can eat the shell. This crab was delicious and definitely met my expectations. $8.
Hamachi Kama: This is a grilled yellowtail fish collar. It is the best part of the fish, in my opinion, and this collar proved that to be true. The meat of the fish fell right off the bone and was tender and perfectly cooked. It was so good, the person I was eating with wanted to order a second one! I do feel, however, that presentation could be improved. $14.
Sashimi Platter: Chef's Selection of 18 different pieces of sashimi. This was the one big disappointment of the night. The raw fish they used was horrible compared to other sushi restaurants in the area. The raw salmon was too slimy and the raw yellowtail was too chewy. Overall, this dish left me feeling unsatisfied and grossed out. I do not recommend the sashimi or any of their raw fish after this dish. $24.
Overall, I would recommend Sushi Gama, just not for their sushi. The three appetizers were all delicious, but as I mentioned, the sashimi that I ordered was below par.
My Rating: *** $$
Thursday, July 13, 2017
"I Just Want To Eat"
I hate to call out another blog, but I cannot resist commenting on a blog post I saw on a fellow food blog called "I Just Want To Eat". Rated the #1 food blog on Zomato, "I Just Want To Eat" has been an active blog since 2011. Like most highly populated blogs, the blogger is sometimes invited for complimentary meals to different restaurants so their restaurant is featured on the blog, and receives exposure to large audiences. After reading one post about a restaurant that I too have visited, I was left wondering if the admin is blogging the truth, or is happy blogging positive qualities to continue receiving free meals.
The restaurant I am addressing above is called Uncle Jack's Steakhouse, which is located in Midtown West. You can find the post about it on "I Just Want To Eat's" blog here.
The first thing you see when you look at the blog post is that he (the admin) received his meal at Uncle Jack's for FREE. I am, however, glad that he mentioned this or else I would be even more suspicious of him fabricating the truth.
His review of the restaurant, in sum, was that everything was perfect. Maybe it was. The cooks were certainly aware that they were cooking for a food review and I am certain that they purposely put extra effort into ensuring perfection for his meal.
I visited Uncle Jack's with my mom, as a regular customer and my meal was not perfect. It was decent, but not perfect.
The part of his blog that left me the most astonished was when he said the restaurant offers different size steaks which therefore "makes a steak dinner affordable".
HAHA THAT'S FUNNY. The truth about Uncle Jack's is that is it outrageously expensive. The starting price for a steak is about $45 and it comes with... NOTHING. $45 for a piece of meat on a plate. Each side is at least $8 extra. Can you imagine?
Maybe this place is "affordable" for people who receive their entire meal for free, but for someone who has to reach into their wallet and pay-it is certainly the opposite.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Wikipedia Follow Up
So about two weeks ago, I was searching on Wikipedia and I noticed a section under "Restaurants" that was incorrect. It was the section about Chef's Tables. So I went ahead and fixed it. You can see the original version and my edits here.
I went back on just now, out of curiosity to see if anyone made any edits to my edit, and they didn't!
Here is the link to the Wikipedia page if you're interested. Restaurant.
So glad I was able to change the entry to better educate people on the truth about the Chef's Table.
I went back on just now, out of curiosity to see if anyone made any edits to my edit, and they didn't!
Here is the link to the Wikipedia page if you're interested. Restaurant.
So glad I was able to change the entry to better educate people on the truth about the Chef's Table.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Terakawa Ramen
I want to share with you guys one of my absolute favorite ramen spots in the city. It is called Terakawa Ramen and is located only two block south of Fordham's Lincoln Center campus. Here are some things you show know about this restaurant.
It is meant to be fast-paced. If you know anything about Japanese cuisine, eating ramen is like eating pizza in America. If you don't know anything about Japanese cuisine, check out my previous blog post: The Right Way to Eat Ramen.
It is a quick eat kind of place since it only sits 10 people at one time, and therefore it is not the right spot to go if you are expecting to talk to your friends and sip a beer. However the ramen is delicious! My favorite is the Spicy Tan Tan, which is spicy so beware.
Terakawa Ramen is relatively cheap running between $9-$14 for a large bowl. Also, it is cash only-so come prepared.
My Rating: $ *****
It is meant to be fast-paced. If you know anything about Japanese cuisine, eating ramen is like eating pizza in America. If you don't know anything about Japanese cuisine, check out my previous blog post: The Right Way to Eat Ramen.
It is a quick eat kind of place since it only sits 10 people at one time, and therefore it is not the right spot to go if you are expecting to talk to your friends and sip a beer. However the ramen is delicious! My favorite is the Spicy Tan Tan, which is spicy so beware.
Terakawa Ramen is relatively cheap running between $9-$14 for a large bowl. Also, it is cash only-so come prepared.
My Rating: $ *****
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Pil Pil
I'm back with another restaurant review. This place is called Pil Pil and it is a small tapas restaurant on 78th street between 3rd and 2nd ave. The food taste was average and the prices were high.
Here is what we ordered:
The Ceviche: It was a hot day, so I was looking forward to a cold, refreshing seafood ceviche. This was a disappointment for a few reasons. First, I was hungry and the metal cocktail glass that the food was presented in served no purpose except making it difficult for me to put anything on my fork without knocking over the whole thing. And second, both the octopus and the shrimp were extremely overcooked.
The Mini- Paella: I would have to say that this was the best thing that I ordered. The seafood wasn't overcooked unlike the ceviche. The rice was very tasty, as was the shrimp.
The Pulpo (Octopus): In Spanish cuisine, Pulpo is by far one of my favorite dishes. The actual pulpo in this dish was good, however I can not say the same about the other components. The potatoes were EXTREMELY undercooked, not mushy at all and hard to bite into. I'm convinced they were raw.
The Lamb Skewers: I do not particularly like lamb as it is, and this dish certainly did not change my mind. The lamb and the zucchini were lacking in seasoning. The lamb meat was tough which means it too, was overcooked.
Here is what we ordered:
The Ceviche: It was a hot day, so I was looking forward to a cold, refreshing seafood ceviche. This was a disappointment for a few reasons. First, I was hungry and the metal cocktail glass that the food was presented in served no purpose except making it difficult for me to put anything on my fork without knocking over the whole thing. And second, both the octopus and the shrimp were extremely overcooked.
The Mini- Paella: I would have to say that this was the best thing that I ordered. The seafood wasn't overcooked unlike the ceviche. The rice was very tasty, as was the shrimp.
The Pulpo (Octopus): In Spanish cuisine, Pulpo is by far one of my favorite dishes. The actual pulpo in this dish was good, however I can not say the same about the other components. The potatoes were EXTREMELY undercooked, not mushy at all and hard to bite into. I'm convinced they were raw.
The Lamb Skewers: I do not particularly like lamb as it is, and this dish certainly did not change my mind. The lamb and the zucchini were lacking in seasoning. The lamb meat was tough which means it too, was overcooked.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Photographing Food Is A New Trend
It's Saturday night. You and your friends are out to eat at a new restaurant in town. The waitress comes and places all the plates of food down on the table. Yet instead of eating it while it's hot, everyone takes a picture of it for social media instead.
Why has posting food become the new pre-meal trend?
Maybe it's because our generation is obsessed with advertising every aspect of our daily lives on social media, and since we eat three meals a day broadcasting our food becomes essential.
But it also could be due to the fact that food has become 'cool'. Just look at Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg's new show that aired November 7, 2016. Who would have ever expected Martha Stewart, a 75 year old woman who started a catering business in her basement in 1976, to pair with Snoop Dogg, a 45 year old American rapper? See a clip of their show here:
Why has posting food become the new pre-meal trend?
Maybe it's because our generation is obsessed with advertising every aspect of our daily lives on social media, and since we eat three meals a day broadcasting our food becomes essential.
But it also could be due to the fact that food has become 'cool'. Just look at Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg's new show that aired November 7, 2016. Who would have ever expected Martha Stewart, a 75 year old woman who started a catering business in her basement in 1976, to pair with Snoop Dogg, a 45 year old American rapper? See a clip of their show here:
This show is the epitome of what the food culture has turned into in recent years. Maybe it isn't entirely a bad thing, as people are more conscious of what they are eating and care more about things like food presentation. But as people are snapping pictures of their food, they are failing to appreciate the moment as it happens and are once again living life through a glass screen.
I am just interested in how long the trend will last...
Saturday, July 1, 2017
The Art of Food Presentation
Before I began dating my food savvy cook of a boyfriend I never realized the intimacy and importance of food presentation. Now that I pay attention to food presentation, I can not not pay attention to it. I have become extremely judgmental towards certain dishes and have learned that the better the food is presented, the better it tastes. Think of it this way: sloppy plating usually means sloppy cooking, which directly affects the taste of the food.
One restaurant that cares immensely about food presentation is an Upper East Side restaurant called Cafe Boulud, one of the many staple restaurants by Chef Daniel Boulud. With one Michelin Star and three stars from The New York Times, Cafe Boulud has to make sure their food presentation is always perfect.
Below is an image of one of the plates currently served at Cafe Boulud. With the help of my boyfriend, who prepares this plate daily, I am going to explain to you the process of creating such a beautiful dish.
This dish is composed of apricot honey glazed duck, honey seared apricot, chantarelle mushroom puree, chantarelle mushrooms, chickpea panisse, garbanzo beans, mustard frills, and chive blossoms.
Restaurants like Cafe Boulud are focused on a balance of flavor and symmetry when plating the ingredients. Since there is only one apricot in this dish, it is forced to be in the center due to their focus on creating balance on the plate. If you look closely, you will see that besides the apricot, there are three of each of the other ingredients: three pieces of duck and three components of the other ingredients. After the apricot is placed, the puree is put into an almost perfect triangle surrounding the center. Then the other ingredients are carefully placed on top of the puree, using tweezers to maximize precision in order to create perfect symmetry. The three pieces of duck are placed last, because they need to be the hottest ingredient on the dish. Two pieces of duck are placed sideways to display the temperature (rare, medium, well) requested by the consumer. The last piece is placed upright to display the crispy skin, which is especially important when cooking duck.
Another thought that goes into each dish is the color choice. For example, in the dish above bright colors are sued such as green, purple, orange and the pink center of the duck. (Summer colors!)
So next time you go out to eat, remember to pay attention to the food presentation. It is an important part of the restaurant experience that too many people overlook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)